I also used plenty of fish, had many dates, been with the last date 10 years .:ho:

My 2 cents!
 

MandoMan, that was an excellent summation of what to look for and expect on dating sites. Great points. You are a person who knows what he wants, is selective, and that's very admirable. I have limited exposure over the years, and do not participate any longer, but I also was selective. By that I mean I paid attention to education, profession, their written profile, their likes and dislikes, and of course pictures. I myself always dated my pictures, which I wish everyone would do, plus I never lied about my age. I spoke on the phone, blocked my number when there were only land lines until we met and I had a semblance of safety. One off color remark in the profile or over the phone and I am gone! I met several very nice men, dated a few times but never ended up in a relationship. The misrepresentation was rampant and that spoiled my desire to do online dating.

As for the remarks about City Fire it is no different than any other restaurant/bar anywhere in the US. Take it for what it is if you enjoy dancing and socializing. Overall it is not suggested to try and meet anyone in a bar, anywhere, not just City Fire. So why always the reference boggles my mind unless there are married folks commenting because they wish they could participate!!! ;)

Brilliant commentary! I have had success on several dating sites over many years. You have summed it up very well. I might add please don't show me a picture with just your eyes, or the huge fish you caught, or your ex with his picture cropped out but his arm around you.

We met on the dating app “match”. We met in 2011 got married in 2012 and here we are in The Villages, well, not quite yet, but getting closer.

However, that was when we were still young, working and almost 15 years ago. In TV, i would do the IRL (in real life) singles group and if asked, just looking for companionship. .

Thank you MandoMan for your thoughtful comprehensive post.

Looking back I became single in 1994 and tried the old fashioned short four line personal ads in a local newspaper. Through them I met three delightful physically attractive women whom I dated for varying amounts of time and remained friends afterward. The ads had no photos so these were sight unseen meet-ups during which we discovered some mutual chemistry which cannot be achieved until meeting in person. This was in Newport Beach, CA. I believe one's location makes a huge difference in how many potential partners one can meet.

Then a dating service called Great Expectations became available in Irvine and I tried it. They maintained a library of profiles and videos of members. One could go to their business and look for dates on their shelves. The service would contact one's selectees to see if they wanted to meet the selector. I had pretty good results but discovered misrepresentations; many of the women lied about their ages; some lied about the number of times they had been married and even about how many children they had. This problem carried over into my dating app experiences. I tried eHarmony, Match, PoF and met several women, but nah...

It's Just Lunch is another dating service I tried (in Albuquerque, NM) and ended up dating the woman who ran it.lol

All of my three long lasting relationships came from meeting someone when I least expected to do so. I met one in a hospital, another at a church Thanksgiving time barbecue and the last at a Single Gourmet dinner, all in Newport Beach.

Over the years I met several women living around the country on airplanes, sightseeing vacations to Europe and Asia. I visit a few; they visit me; we remain in contact. Life is good.

Dating app
 

My girl and I meet on eharmony 6 years ago. It worked for us. I met a ton of single professional women on the app.

Nope, I disagree. I am not looking but I meet every criteria including the PhD and the art and the living in TV. (Although I used to ride a Kawasaki 6R and have lots bike photos, not any more.)

I have friends who met on Match. They lived in different countries, spoke different languages, both were professors and somehow they worked it out - happily married 20 years now.

If Mr. Midnight is still around and active maybe he can weigh in. According to the book "Leisureville" Mr. Midnight was successfully using one or more internet dating sites to connect with women. This would have been in the early 2000s.

My nephew and his wife met on Match. They have been very happily married for 18 years and still going strong.

Just my personal view. Although one obviously does not want a companion who is only interested in mooching, what is wrong with sharing your money?
If you’re saving it for the kids, they better be the ones who are there for you in your old age and when you are ill. If you expect your spouse to be there you ought to share with them.

A neighbor became a widow half a year ago. She is attractive and very well off. She has no close relatives to leave anything to. No charities she is interested in. And she thought she might try dating. People suggested City Fire. I’ve never been there so I don’t know. The neighbor thought about that for about 10 seconds. Then she said, “I think I’ll get kittens for company.”

She doesn’t spend much, she invests instead. All her life she was used to making money not spending it. I asked her, “So, what are you saving it for?” She had no answer. We went to a great (expensive) place for lunch afterwards.

Plenty of Fish, Match, OK Cupid and eHarmony worked great 10 years ago. No longer.

The apps of choice are now Bumble and Hinge. You might want to look into Our Time; not sure if that is any good these days or not.

Pictures are extremally important and the advice earlier in the thread has been good. It's worth considering paying a professional to take some profile photos.

My personal opinion is not to write a lengthy profile description. Not too short, but not so long and detailed. You can fill in the blanks if and when you meet in person.

I would also second the advice to focus primarily on meeting someone organically, especially here in TV. Join more activities and talk to people. It's the best method, hands down.

You might have a different opinion if got taken to the cleaners in a divorce. That being said, you are correct that a faithful spouse or partner who takes good care of you should be rewarded. As for the kids, they can earn their own money.

Chat Rooms
 

I post a question before, and I was hoping for an answer.
My wife died 2 weeks ago, and I am not looking for a mate.
Is there a site where you can just chat?
Years ago, I know there were a lot of chat rooms but no matter what topic you visited it always ended up about sex, so I dropped out.

I guess you are right. I did have a divorce decades ago. But, although we were not well matched, he was a trustworthy gentleman. Without prompting, and zero expectation from me he gave me 2/3 of all our assets in the divorce. Needless to say, he is still a friend, and if he is in need he can count on me.

My husband and I met in 2017 on an app called OK Cupid and we were married in 2022.